Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 India Launch Details: Fancy A 40bhp, Liquid Cooled Engine To Rival KTMs?

Royal Enfield seems to be working on a couple of Himalayans to expand its ADV-motorcycle offering range. According to sources, the company is working on a new Himalayan 450 adventure-motorcycle under the new K1 platform.

The new motorcycle will be using a single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 450cc engine that is expected to produce 40bhp. However, people in the know are stating that the engine can produce as much as 45bhp.

As it is an ADV motorcycle, Royal Enfield would want to compromise on power a little bit to add in more torque. Currently, the torque figures of the motorcycle are yet to be known. It is safe to assume that the new Himalayan 450 will have boot loads of power to tackle the toughest of terrain.

Now putting things in perspective, the outgoing ADV bike from the brand puts out 23bhp of power. This means that the new motorcycle will churn out 17bhp more. That is like adding the Classic or the Meteor 350s power to the outgoing Himalayan. Excitement is off the roof thinking about all that power on the Himalayan!

Because of its newfound power, the upcoming 450cc motorcycle will be pitted against the likes of the KTM Adventure 390 and the Benelli TRK 502.

Getting to the design of the motorcycle, based on the image leaked by the source, we can notice the new motorcycle borrow certain bits from the current Himalayan motorcycle. This includes the round-shaped headlamps, the jerry can rack and more. However, the fuel tank seems a little bit bigger and has a unique look to it.

Also, the prototype seems to have a single piece seat which is highly unlikely to make it to production. The homologated bike will most likely feature a more user-friendly split-seat setup.

Other mechanicals will include a long travel USD fork at the front and a mono-shock at the rear along with a strengthened trellis chassis. This will make the bike more rigid and easy to handle on all terrains.

Royal Enfield will be using the same 21-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels and tyres setup as seen on the outgoing Himalayan. However, from the picture though, the new Himalayan 450 could feature exceptional ground clearance.

Other features such as the brand's Tripper navigation that functions via a smartphone application powered by Google, is also expected to be found in the instrument cluster of the Himalayan 450.

Now to answer two important questions, you would be having while reading this article: when will the Himalayan 450 launch? And what would be its pricing?

The new Himalayan 450 is expected to be unveiled at the 2022 Rider Mania and could be launched by the first quarter of next year. However, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there have been some delays with other model launches from the brand such as the Super Meteor and Shotgun. It remains to be seen if the KTM ADV 390 will finally get a rival from Royal Enfield's stable in 2023.

Answering the second question will be a tough one as it is all assumptions at this point in time. Because of the super-aggressive starting price of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, we believe the new Himalayan 450 could be priced at around Rs 2.7 lakh.

Sources also state that the Himalayan 450 is expected to receive a variant that would feature tubeless tyre ready spoked rims, which would be priced very near to the interceptor 650. Nevertheless, the Himalayan 450 and the Interceptor 650 would cater to different genres of motorcycling and would not end up as a competition to claw each other sales when launched in India.

Thoughts About The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 India Launch

Royal Enfield Himalayan remains to be one of the most affordable and capable ADV motorcycles on sale in India. Although it can do the rough and tough stuff pretty easily, the outgoing model lacks cruising capabilities. The new Himalayan 450 will certainly curb the problem of low-end torque and high-speed cruising when launched in India next year.

Also, I am instigating anything here, but Dakar Rally bikes are limited to 450cc. Whether there will be a Royal Enfield entry into the rally race in the near future remains to be seen.

Source: Bikewale